MNI BRIEF: UK Wages Hit Record High as Hiring Spree Continues

UK starting salaries hit record highs last month, as companies continue to recruit at a frenzied pace while reckoning with low levels of staff availability, according to the KPMG/REC jobs report, as "demand for workers continued to grow last month, while staff availability fell at a near-record pace."

"Competition for staff has led to the fastest growth in starting salaries since this survey began — not just in logistics and food processing, but in white collar professions as well," said Neil Carberry, chief executive of the REC.

An index of permanent salaries jumped to 75.7 from 73.5 in August, while wages for temporary and contract workers rose to an index level of 69.1 from 66.8, both all-time highs in a series dating back to 1997. A reading above 50 indicates expansion. The placements index retreated slightly to 71.8, just below the record high recorded in the previous month, while vacancies fell modestly to 73.0 from all-time highs of over 74 touched over the summer months. The worker availability index improved marginally to 25.3 from a series low of 23.0 in August.

On Thursday, a leading UK employment economist told MNI that going forward, the UK was more likely to see a real pay squeeze rather than a pay boom.